It’s the middle of May and I can’t help thinking of summer.   While its’ been warm in Atlanta since late February, Memorial weekend marks the unofficial start of summer.  I’m filled with thoughts of all things summer; brightly colored bikinis, days spent poolside, dining al fresco and festivals in the park constantly occupy my mind.   I’m ready to jump in head first.

As a tropical girl at heart, I crave the hot rays of the sun so I take advantage of any opportunity to bask in it warmth.   This means lots of grilling.   I love the amazing, smoky flavor that develops from grilling over charcoal, I’m sort of addicted.   I like to think that it’s virtually impossible for food to taste bad once it’s grilled, provided that it’s not burned.   I had a bit of jerk seasoning left over from the last batch that I made which I used to marinate the chicken overnight.   While I wanted the flavor of jerk, I wanted to tame the heat just a tad bit.   Adding BBQ sauce provided the perfect combination of heat and sweet.   A few bites of these legs and I knew that my summer had officially began.

BBQ Jerk Chicken

10 chicken legs

3 tbsp jerk seasoning

¼ cup pineapple juice

1 cup of your Favorite BBQ sauce

½ cup sugar

1 tsp rice vinegar

¼ tsp five spice powder

Place chicken in a large Ziploc bag with jerk seasoning.  Allow to marinate for 12 hours, preferably overnight turning occasionally.

To make the BBQ sauce place pineapple juice, bbq sauce, sugar, rice vinegar and five spice powder in a bowl then mix to combine.  Set aside.

Preheat grill.  Place chicken on grill, coated with cooking spray.  Cook for 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked, turning occasionally.   Baste with BBQ sauce in last 5 minutes of cooking.